Anwar Won Permatang Pauh By-Election

The PKR de-facto leader was returned to Parliament with a majority of 15,671 votes, exceeding the 13,388-vote majority won by his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail in the March 8 general election.

“Permatang Pauh has given a clear signal to the leadership of this country. We demand change. We want freedom. We don’t want to live with corruption and oppression.

“We want an independent judiciary, we want the economy to benefit the vast majority not the corrupt few,” he added.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the result was proof that democracy was still alive in the country and there was no manipulation involved.

“As we have pointed out right from the start, we would be facing a tough challenge,” he said.

The closely watched by-election was called after Dr Wan Azizah resigned as the MP on July 31 to enable her husband to run for election.

Anwar held the seat for four terms before he was sacked from his Deputy Prime Minister’s post in 1998 under corruption and sodomy charges.

Dr Wan Azizah, who had been known as a reluctant politician, won the seat for a third term in March.

A mammoth crowd comprising PKR leaders and supporters gathered early at the tallying centre at the Tuanku Bainun Teacher Training College in Bukit Mertajam to celebrate Anwar’s victory.

Supporters in the crowd let off fireworks as returning officer Roslan Yahaya announced the results about 10pm.

Voter turnout was relatively high, at about 80% of the total of 58,459 registered voters in the constituency.

Barisan was the underdog from the start in the hard-fought by-election that Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak described as a titanic challenge.

Anwar’s convincing victory was reminiscent of his heyday, when he secured a stunning 23,515-vote majority in the 1995 general election by polling 27,945 votes. In Tuesday’s polling, 47,258 voters cast their ballots, or 80.83% of the 58,459 total number of voters.

Anwar bags 61% of vote: PKR exit polls
Aug 26, 08 3:56pm
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s PKR said today its exit polls indicate he has won 61 percent of the votes in a by-election expected to return him to parliament.
– Turnout in March was 81 percent
– ‘Lower turnout among non-Malays’

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